Biarritz Aquarium

What it is and what you see

The Biarritz Aquarium occupies the former Musée de la Mer, the Art Deco building on the Atalaye esplanade, above the old port and a short walk from the Rocher de la Vierge. Inside you travel the Bay of Biscay from the coast to the seabed, and then more distant seas: sea turtles, sharks, jellyfish and tropical fish. The piece everyone remembers is the seal tank, which you see from above, in the open air, and also from below the water, through the glass.

It is a medium-sized aquarium, designed to be seen unhurriedly in a morning or an afternoon. The aquarium itself estimates an average visit of an hour and a half, and up to two hours if you stop at everything. In the rain or with a sea too big for the beach it is Biarritz's handiest plan, so on those days it fills up.

Hours

Open all year. In November 2026 the hours are 9:30 to 19:00, and the ticket offices close an hour earlier: the last entry is around 18:00. The hours change with the season, with some days opening only in the afternoon, others closed and summer evenings until 22:00. Check the calendar on the aquarium's website for the day you go.

The seals' feeding is a specific moment of the day and draws a lot of people around the pool. The website does not publish a fixed time: ask at the ticket office on arrival and organise the visit around it.

Tickets and prices

The rates published by the aquarium are:

• Adult: €17.
• Child aged 4 to 12: €12.
• Reduced (13 to 17, students and jobseekers): €15.
• Combined with the Cité de l'Océan, the ocean centre 3 km away: €28 adult, €20 ages 6 to 12, €12 ages 4 to 5 and €24 reduced. The aquarium recommends it from age 6.

The French large-family card gives €2 off per person, at the ticket office only. With a disability, the companion enters free if the card states that assistance is needed. Under-16s must be with an adult.

Buy your ticket on the website: the aquarium recommends it to avoid the queue, and in school holidays there is fast access for those who bring one. At the ticket office you pay by card, cash or ANCV holiday vouchers.

Getting there and where to park

The aquarium has no car park of its own. The nearest is the Port Vieux one, outdoors, with about 40 spaces and 240 m away; it fills up early. Then come the paid Indigo underground car parks: Sainte-Eugénie at 500 m, Bellevue at 800 m, the Casino at 840 m and Les Halles at 1 km. If you spend the day in Biarritz, the free park-and-ride at the Halle Iraty, on the outskirts, has about 290 spaces and a shuttle to the centre.

By Txik Txak bus, line N4 stops at Port Vieux, in front; lines 12 and 18 drop you at Hélianthe, a nine-minute walk. Biarritz railway station is far from the centre, about 25 minutes by bus: bear that in mind if you arrive on the coast train.

With children and accessibility

It is a visit that works from three or four years old: the seals, sharks and turtles hold their attention. Watch out for pushchairs and wheelchairs on arrival: the footpath through the Atalaye gardens is not practicable. The aquarium indicates an accessible route that goes round the plateau, marked in blue on the plan on its website.

On leaving you have the old port and the Rocher de la Vierge five minutes away, and for lunch, the district of Les Halles de Biarritz, a quarter of an hour's walk. If the weather improves, the Côte des Basques is on the other side of the Atalaye.